July 4th BBQ

I usually have a great 4th of July tradition. I invite myself to my sister's house, which just happens to be on Main Street in Hyrum, and watch the small town parade go by while sitting on her front lawn. The kids get giant bags of candy, and I get to hang out in the shade and chat with the grown-ups. We usually stay long enough to grill some burgers and then head home in time to walk up the street and gate-crash the country club for some fireworks. Basically, I spend the day going to parties where I invited myself. I am a little sad (and my husband is a lot sad) that I will be breaking with tradition this year and will be making the 4th a working holiday. It means I won't be able to see my three little girls dressed in their cute matching dresses at the parade.

Here's the deal with the craft show circuit. People gather on holidays. Most people have the day off of work. They all go out with their families to festivals and shows together. That means that if I am going to have any luck selling my stuff, I need to work the holidays. This means I have spent the last two Thanksgivings setting up a booth to be ready for Black Friday. Now July 4th is going to the cause, too. I'm just glad that my husband's birthday isn't really the national holiday that he thinks it is or I would really be in the dog house.

I figured if I can't be there to celebrate with my family, I can at least post pictures of what I am missing.


OK- we don't actually make our own french fries, but you get the point.

This is how I like my burger. Nothing fancy for me. I also made a super-cute hot dog, but you will have to wait until Labor Day for that one. I am too lazy to pull it out, take a picture and fight with my computer to get it to upload into the right place. Besides, my camera battery is dead. Maybe I will be a more organized/motivated person when I don't have three kids in diapers. No cookout is complete without an ice cream cone at the end! I make these in a variety of flavors and they have rattles in them. It is the best kind of ice cream for a baby because it doesn't melt and make a giant mess.

I guess I should plug my show now. I will be at the Freedom Festival on July 1, 2 and 4th. It is in Provo so, of course, it doesn't run on Sunday. How great is it that, in America, we are so patriotic that we celebrate our independence day with a full week of car shows, carnivals, beauty pageants, parades, fireworks, concerts, hot air balloon shows, golf tournaments, essay contests.... the list goes on and on. This is one of the biggest July 4th celebrations in the state and it should be lots of fun for the whole family. If you live in the Utah County direction, make sure you stop by my booth to say "hi"!

South Ogden Days

I am off to South Ogden for a show today. This should be a fun festival. There is a car show, a carnival, a parade, a mud volleyball tournament and fireworks. I love fireworks. And the mud volleyball should be pretty funny to watch, too. I am looking forward to spending a couple of days sitting in the nice weather, now that summer has finally decided to make an appearance, and eating fair food. If you are looking for something fun to do with the family this weekend, stop by and check it out! The info about times and location is on my sidebar. You can also see a schedule of events here.

Mmmm...mmmm...good!

One of my favorite lunches is a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup. The soup is really more of a dipping sauce for the sandwich. There is something about the crispy, buttery bread with the gooey cheese dipped into the creamy, savory soup. All of the kids love it, too. Even the babies like it if I cut the sandwich into tiny pieces and dip it in soup for them. I was recently at a craft show and I saw a lady who was selling cans of soup. Her workmanship left a lot to be desired and she used a styrofoam cylinder to hold the shape. I could tell, because you could see it through the spaces in the stitching. It inspired me to do better. This is what I came up with.

I could never let my babies play with a toy with a styrofoam core because they would bite pieces off with their four little teeth. I use tight stitches and a structured yarn so that mine will hold it's shape in it's own. I have even thrown my toys in the washing machine to see if they would lose their shape. They came out clean and looking perfect.

I was thinking the soup would be fun in other flavors, too. How cute would it be to give a can of chicken soup to a sick friend in the hospital on diet restrictions? Or a can of mushroom soup to my mother who made a different casserole with a mushroom soup base for dinner five nights a week when I was growing up? It would even be a cute and unexpected rattle for a baby shower! Now it's your turn to tell me about your favorite soup!